The Lament Of Harry Potter
by itihas0
Summary: Harry potter, the boy-who-lived, died when he was 8 in a accident where he fell and drowned in the English channel and the wizarding world mourned for the loss of their savior , which is why it surprises everyone when seven years later the Goblet of Fire spits out his name as the fourth champion . Smart,Intelligent&cunning, Believably Powerful Harry Potter. one-shot.


**AU- it's just a one-shot fic. i had an idea and decided to write it down , just for fun. hope you guys enjoy it.**

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**BY THE PRICKING OF MY THUMBS , SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES****.**

Like every Halloween , the ambiance of the great hall of Hogwarts was full of excitement. The feast was in full swing and it was moments like these that she, Minerva McGonagall lived for. Hogwarts was her home , and has been for a long time. This year however , was extra special for Hogwarts, for it was hosting the first ever Triwizard tournament in two hundred years . The students of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons along with their respective heads had arrived this a couple of days ago .

The students of Beauxbatons sat at the Ravenclaw table and not surprisingly the durmstrang students at Slytherin table.

The people of magical Britain celebrated Halloween with even more zeal than anyone else in the world. And they had every right to, for on this very day, fourteen years ago , the ever encompassing shadow of the most terrible dark lord was dispelled. It was followed by eight years of peace and celebration , which was pierced when the news of the death of their saviour arrived

Even after six years she could not gather the courage to even utter the name of the saviour of the wizarding world. The guilt weighed too heavy on her chest , knowing her inaction all those years ago , was the reason he was not in this very hall .

She recalled when four years ago , the wizards and witches of Britain had been devastated and disappointed when harry potter had not come to attend Hogwarts . but they had been quick to come up with the excuses , the rumour that harry potter was getting extensive training in magic in some secret location , battling dragons , nundus and other creatures , saving maiden witches from dark lords and what not.

She knew that even at this very moment , almost all the girls in Hogwarts have a crush on harry potter , a boy they have never met , and never will. And why wouldn't they be , they all grew up hearing about him as children in bedtime stories , filled with feats of magic more befitting the likes of Dumbledore .

But she was one of the very few who accepted the truth , the truth of why harry potter had not come to Hogwarts , the truth that why he had not been seen even once since that fateful Halloween night. She knew despite the tales about him , the songs that have been sung in is honour , the wizarding world's hope that one day the boy who lived will grace them with his presence, were for naught .

For harry potter was dead, had been for the last six years , had died in the most horrific way possible. Even now , six years since his death , she had nightmares about the incident. The specter of her favourite students; Lily and James , blaming her for the death of their orphaned son.

The news of harry potter deaths had met with outcry , speculation , disbelief. Very , very Few ever accepted the fact the boy-who-lived was dead , a majority of public didn't .

Then there had been those who were outraged , outraged that harry potter was sent to live in a muggles and had died in a road accident which had sent his body to the depth of English channel . Apparently she had been right when she had told Dumbledore that those muggle relatives of Lily.

'if only I had stood my ground that night, maybe just maybe the boy would have survived ' she thought mournfully

But despite the official announcement , a vast majority of public still refused to believe that their saviour was dead, and Minerva could understand why. The dark lord's rein of terror had left the witches and wizards of Britain terrified , the society barely functioning, the ministry barely holding on, people dying left and right , you didn't know if you would come home from work to find your family alive or the dark mark hanging over your house. And then, one night, it all had ended, for the people, harry potter had been like a sunrise after the darkest and never-ending night.

Which is why they clung to the belief that harry potter was still alive, coming up with different stories and conspiracy theories to support their belief. And all that , coupled with the stories written and songs sung about him only added fuel to the fire.

The latest singing sensation , a teenage witch from America, who currently was ranked the most desired teen as per witch weekly magazine for the second time in a row. But that was not all , she had only a month ago released a song , 'the lament of harry potter'. A song about the good looks of harry potter and how he was fighting the forces of evil and dark lords from shadows , and the song had become the most listened to song ever.

Truth be told , Minerva couldn't fault them , Afterall no body was ever found. And despite knowing the truth , a part of her wished it was true, that somehow he had survived . The never ending incidents where a witch or wizard would claim to see him , and the same ambiguous description; extremely handsome face , fair and tall, a lighting bolt scar on his forehead and the most beautiful glowing emerald green eyes, similar to how he was described in every novel or storybook about him. But nothing conclusive was ever found . Some in the Auror department thought that a copy cat was on the loose, which repulsed Minerva to no end.

She felt a tap on her shoulder and looked to see Pomona and said

"What?"

"It's about to begin" she said. To which Minerva nodded and turned his attention towards the headmaster , avoiding the sympathetic look her colleague sent her way.

"Three champions " Dumbledore began , showing his flare for theatrics." Three champions will represent their schools and will compete for the greatest honour"

And after a dramatic pause added

"eternal glory "

A hushed silence fell upon the great hall and even the usually jaunty students like the Weasley twins were looking at the headmaster with apt attention. Albus extinguished the candles with a casual wave of his hand.

"I do believe the goblet of fire almost ready" he muttered , but the voice was carried to every corner of the great hall.

And not a moment later the subdued blue flames of the powerful artefact came to life , transforming into a bright flame and threw out a piece of parchment . the headmaster , defying his age , snatched it gracefully before clearing his throat

"The champion for Durmstrang is, Viktor Krum".

Those in the room clapped enthusiastically for the Bulgarian quidditch star. He rose from his seat and exited the hall through the door gestured to by Dumbledore.

The occupants of the hall fell silent once more as they waited for the goblet to continue its task. It came to life as expected and ejected another piece of parchment that the headmaster caught.

"The Beauxbaton's champion is Fleur Delacour," he announced.

The applause was much lighter this time, but the silver-haired girl smiled at the support she received.

She too disappeared into the same door as Krum had, leaving the goblet to select it's final competitor.

Silence reigned in the Great Hall as the students of Hogwarts waited for the selection of their very own champion. Most of the seventh years had submitted themselves for consideration, each believing they were the ones to bring the promised glory to their name. though she was disappointed to know that it the probability of it being one of her lion was astronomically less , but she still held hope.

Just then the goblet provided the headmaster with its selection and he again swiped the parchment from the air before addressing his audience.

"The champion for Hogwarts, is Cedric Diggory," he informed them with a proud smile adorning his face.

The applause this time was more than the previous two had gotten combined. Pomona got on her feet and she too cheered loudly for the boy, marvelling the irony that the house of badgers, usually called the house of leftovers will represent Hogwarts .The chosen boy stood amidst the cheering and pats on the back from his classmates and made his way to follow the other champions. And it warmed her heart that, every student, irrespective of his house , was cheering for the Hufflepuff .

Dumbledore held up his hand to garner the room's attention once more so that he could speak his final words of the evening.

"Now that our champions have been selected I hope that we can all offer our full support to all those selected. The Tri-wizard tournament is not for the faint of heart and the mettle of each will be tested to their very limits…."

He was cut off from continuing as the Goblet sputtered into life once more, this time it's orange fire more potent that the three before combined. It then released another piece of parchment. The headmaster's shock was evident from the fact that This time he was not quick enough to snatch it from the air but instead had to retrieve it from the floor. He did so initially with a frown but whatever name was written on the parchment had his eyes widening in horror.

"What does it say Domlydore?" madame Olympe asked haughtily .

Minerva saw as Dumbledore seemed to stare at the Parchment with abject horror. He swallowed deeply and shook his head, probably trying to dispel whatever was written on it. Minerva saw as his old colleague seemed to age a decade right before her eyes and she knew the situation must be bad .

Dumbledore had faced wizards and magic so terrible that would leave most of the wizards quaking in their boots, but she has never seen his face so ashen. She got up from her seat and approached his old mentor , but midway Dumbledore answered madame Olympe's question

"Harry Potter," he managed to choke out.

And Minerva stumbled and had to hold on to Hagrid to maintain her balance, her mind going into shock and she noticed she wasn't the only one. The entire staff , even the usually disinterested Severus, were on their feet. There was a pin drop silence for the next couple of moments as everyone took the news in and then it came , the whispers , but Minerva saw red and for the first time in her long career she absolutely lost composure .

"Enough " her magically amplified voice quenching any murmur .

"Who did this ?" she asked the student body " if it is someone's idea of a prank " here she glared at the Weasley twins and continued with barely concealed fury "IT. IS. NOT. FUNNY "

However before she could continue any further,

"I will say this once, if , this was the act of a student , then I assure you the consequences for them will be most dire " Severus Snape spoke in cold tone , sending a look towards his snake as if gauging their reaction.

"Professors Snape , Professor McGonagall " Dumbledore said trying to placate them, a glint of something in his eyes that she didn't recognize .

"We must give the instructions to the champions " he said to the staff and the two ministry employees , with that he too moved towards the antechamber .

* * *

That had been a week ago , and the repercussions of that night were still being felt . Everyone had been shocked at first , but that shock had soon turned to confusion and then hope. The gates of Hogwarts have been swarmed by reporters. Hogsmeade was home to more visitors than in its entire history.

She was not the only one who was upset over the whole incident as she knew she wasn't the only one who had a special connection to the boy.

She looked over the table and stole a glance at poppy. Harry potter was the first in the last four hundred years to be born at Hogwarts . she recalled how that had come to pass ; Lilly had gotten hurt a few days before her due date when a death eater had tried to kill her in St. Mungo's , so Albus had offered her to stay in the infirmary of Hogwarts, it was summer vacations Afterall . Pomphry had been all too happy to be her midwife and she was the first one to hold the new born harry. Minerva recalled Poppy had been exceptionally excited for Harry's arrival to Hogwarts for his first year , and when the news of his death had reached her , she had been inconsolable.

Surprisingly enough , Severus had taken the news of harry potter death's even worse and had openly blamed Albus for it . Hagrid , the gentle giant, had been inconsolable for months and had regretted taking the baby from Godric's hollow to privet drive at all.

And then there was her , she still remember how she had gotten so close and fond of baby harry potter , it wasn't that she had gotten fond of the boy instantly , quite the opposite actually , an eight months old harry potter had taken an immediate liking to the cat Animagus and it hadn't taken him long to charm her .

She fondly recalled when just a month after going into hiding, a frantic James had flooed her and had taken her to his cottage after telling her the secret written on a parchment, she had admonished him for risking the safety that the fidelius offered, but apparently James was adamant about it being an emergency. The emergency being that harry had been calling her name, and had then in an instant turned into a kitten startling and worrying his parents.

After the shock of knowing that it was an accidental self body transfiguration ,had worn off , she had reversed it. After which harry had tried to hug her with his tiny arms and kept chanting the name he had given her

'kitty' she recalled the name fondly as a sudden warmth entered her chest and her eyes moistened involuntarily . She had then turned into her Animagus form and had played with the baby harry for some time.

' If his accidental transfiguration magic was anything to go by , he would have been a prodigy in transfiguration , maybe even an Animagus ' she thought sadly. But her reminiscing was abruptly cut short when she felt Goosebumps on the back of her neck.

She looked around the great hall and The first sign of trouble was when Minerva suddenly shivered, she looked around her and noticed that she wasn't the only one , the temperature fell drastically , she could literally see her breath in the cold.

'A prank?' she thought as she got up to find the perpetrator, most probably the twins , the bane of her existence , when suddenly it happened,

Strange noises were suddenly heard steaming through the room and fire and streams of black smoke shimmered their way from every angle of the great hall to the middle. Minerva knew at that very instance that it was not a prank, the magic required way beyond any student .

' Was someone attacking Hogwarts?' She thought with horror just when the students sensing the danger got up from their house tables in time and pushed themselves against the stone walls . She noticed with pride as prefects took charge and did there best to shield the younger students .

just then the amalgamation of fire and smoke gathered together, creating a whirlwind that did not blow, and suddenly green embers could be seen and everyone was stunned by a mysterious display of magic, when suddenly every piece of cutlery were pulled into the whirlwind and was destroyed;. Once this was done, the smoke suddenly turned grey and then, the spinning stopped and the smoke parted two ways to reveal a figure hovering in the middle of the great hall.

The wizards or whatever it was , was wearing the most unique set of robes she had ever seen. Black silk pant and Victorian vest robe , which was vastly hidden under a Very intricate and unique Golden breastplate with matching rerebrace and vemrave coupled with greaves . Over it he wore a green sleeveless robe , made of leather unlike any she had seen before. A green cape , fastened to his pouldron plates , cascading in air . and lastly his face , hidden completely by a hood.

All in all the figure cut a very impressive and intimidating sight , and Minerva saw as many took an involuntary step back . It was then she registered something that baffled her and immediately put her on edge , because she just registered two facts, one that the wizard had somehow entered Hogwarts magically , a feat that should not be possible . And second, the wizard was flying , unaided flying was thought to be impossible.

For a moment Minerva thought as if Salazar Slytherin himself has come back from the dead . but then another terrible thought entered her mind,

'what if it's the heir of Slytherin instead , Albus always believed that the dark lord was still alive, could it be?' she thought as her blood turned to ice and quickly and silently she sent a Patronus message , one to Albus and one to Amelia Bones.

The wizard slowly descended towards the floor and Minerva steeled her nerves , showed her Gryffindor bravery and asked

"Who are you ?"

The intruder chuckled at that and then said , in a husky yet deep voice.

"No professor , the more pertinent question should be , why ?why am I here"

"Very well" she asked in a no-nonsense tone " why are you here , uninvited ?"

"Hun" the stranger said as if talking to himself " I thought the invitation was implied"

He then took a step forward and said

"To answer your question, I assure you I had no desire to return , but unfortunately I am burdened with a task , one I must complete "

This confused Minerva and she was sure she wasn't the only one. They wizard claims to have returned to Hogwarts, implying that this wasn't his first time.

"What task? , because I will protect every student till my dying breadth " she replied. And there was truth to her words, she knew if the intruder's capability to apparate within Hogwarts and ability to fly were any indication , he must be a very powerful wizards , and while she was more than good , she was no fighter , but she had faith that together with the rest of the staff they would be able to defeat him

'Where the hell are you Albus' she cursed inwardly. However her musing were broken when the wizard in front of said

"Oh my , I think I may have given you the wrong impression, I have no intention nor incentive to hurt any of your student " he said with unconcealed amusement lacing his voice " while I do find the mere presence of some extremely distasteful " here he looked at far left where Karkaroff and Snape stood .

"But I have no intention to expel anyone from the realm of living. Yet " he added after a pause.

"Could have fooled me" Minerva replied

"true" the stranger said, agreeing with her, which caught her off-guard.

"I will ask again then, why are you here?"" she asked , trying to channel more authority into her voice.

"I am here to destroy the goblet of fire" he said and for a moment no one said anything, too stunned by the wizard's reason for dropping by. And after a long silence, Snape asked

"Why?"

"I have my reasons" he replied casually .

"While I am sure you have your reason , I too have a duty as such I am afraid I can't allow you to destroy the goblet" Minerva replied, levelling her wand at him , the action followed by her colleagues.

"Tsk I abhor violence, as such I will urge you to reconsider your answer, because when I want something , I don't let anything or anyone stop me." He said and then added, a bit forcefully

"And while I abhor violence , ironically I am extremely good at it "

But Minerva did not back down , neither did any of her colleague , even Karkaroff and Maxime were ready for a fight. They stood in a semi circle directly in front of the wizard. She saw Pomona to her immediate right , Sinistra and Bathsheba further right from her. Flitwick to her left, Snape and Karkraoff a few feet to Flitwick's left. Olympe stood behind Pomona. Irma , Poppy , Charity and Hooch too stood behind Flitwick.

It was then she realized , that despite Moody's and Dumbledore's absence , they were one staff member short. But she didn't get any time to wonder Septima's sudden absence because just then The wizard in front of her gave a frustrated sigh and then said

"Very well , let it be known that I gave you a way out" he said and just as the last word left his tongue he lashed out at them .

On one side the entire staff of Hogwarts , minus Hagrid who stood with the students , and Olympe and Karkaroff. And on the other side , a lone wizard. It was a whirlwind of spells , she along with a dozen of her colleagues fired a salvo of spells at the unknown wizard , but Minerva had overestimated the might of quantity. Because with a terrible grace and inhuman speed, the unknown wizard , deflected , blocked and fired spells of his own , each packing quite a punch, as he simultaneously starting walking towards them

Within seconds , most of the staff , besides herself, Severus , Filius ,Olympe , were on defensive , but the status quo soon changed as she heard the sound of someone falling beside her. Even without looking she knew Pomona was down.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

She dare not stop to see who else had fallen , but she knew the wizard in front of them was exceptionally strong . Minerva then relied on her strength , and transfigured the house tables into dozens of Feral beasts , tigers , lions, jaguars , snakes eagles ,and unleashed them at once on the wizard just when

"Crucio"

Came a shout from her right , and she realized with horror that someone , most likely karkaroff , has used an unforgivable . The result was in front of her as the wizard grunted in pain and was down on one knee

"Sectum-" Snape began with a spell unknown to her, however his intent quite clear , but he was unable to finish the spell because just as the transfigured animals were about to tear into the intruder , he bellowed louder than a thunderclap, sending raw magic in all directions around him with enough power to destroy all of her transfigured animals and cause the stone floor below him to crack, as everyone except Filius were knocked down .

"Enough with the kids' glove, let me reciprocate in kind" he said in grave voice and the fight resumed, and it became clear quite soon that the wizard had been indeed fighting with the kids' glove, quite literally. Within a blink of an eye Karkaroff was bound by a snake made of literal fire. And in the same time a great lightening blast from his wand hit Olympe square in the chest , rendering her unconscious as the smell of ozone filled the air .

Meanwhile A silver shield now hovered before him , which absorbed every spell that Filius threw at him like some bottomless pit . That left him to focus solely on offence , and it was a sight to behold. He did not give herself or Snape a chance to get back on their feet as just when she was on her knees , she felt her wand being snatched from her hands by an invisible force and the stone floor below her rose up like water and formed a cocoon around her and then solidified again , leaving only her face uncovered but her lips sealed shut.

Severus too had suffered a similar fate, she didn't see how , but only the outcome, which was Severus now bound in iron chains and was hanging upside down.

That left only two to oppose him ; Filius and Poppy. Which was why Minerva was surprised when the wizard threw a spell behind him , but was even more surprised when the now visible body of Septima hit the ground , now stunned.

'So that is where she was, trying to sneak up on him' Minerva thought

"Filius Flitwick" said the wizard making the diminutive professor stop for a moment.

"I will admit, of all of them, I was only wary of you, a six-time world duelling champion, I am truly honoured to fight you"

Filius didn't reply with words, but with a barrage of spells, all of which were easily absorbed by his shield. Minerva was actually quite surprised, because that particular shield spell was unlike any she had ever seen. Fillius kept up firing spell chain after another till he stopped, panting , out of breath and easy picking for the wizard as a powerful stunner broke through Filius's weak shield like knife through butter and he went limp .

That only left Poppy, who though put up a brave face, Minerva knew was quite scared.

"You are a healer, I respect those of your noble profession, and on principle, try my level best to never harm a healer, please madam, drop your wand, don't force my hand "said the wizard in a surprisingly gentle tone.

"I can't do that" poppy replied and before she could say anything else, with a casual wave of his hand, he disarmed the Hogwarts, matron. But even before poppy's wand could reach the wizard, with a deafening roar, Hagrid, bless his soul, charged at the seemingly invincible wizard with the intent to plummet him with his bare hand.

What surprised Minerva that the wizard didn't move at all, didn't raise his wand to cast a spell, au contraire, he holstered his wand altogether. Hagrid reached near the wizard and was about to punch him and for a moment Minerva hoped, hoped that Hagrid would be able to do what twelve trained witches and wizards, master of their respective field was not able to.

But her hopes were short lived, because what she witnessed next left her shell shocked. The wizard was holding Hagrid's massive fist in his bare hand, Hagrid tried to yank his hand free but was unable to , so he tried to punch him with his other hand , only to be met with the same result, it made a strange sight , an eight feet tall half giant being held down by relatively small wizard .

But that was not the end of Hagrid's struggle, surprising everyone, perhaps even the wizard, Hagrid headbutted him. But the wizard remained unfazed and now she feared for Hagrid's fate.

"I did not wish to fight you Hagrid, I am truly sorry for this" the wizards said.

This sent Minerva's mind for a spin

'How does this wizard know Hagrid by name' she though and was surprised to detect genuine concern and regret in his voice , but her musing were cut short as the wizard started hovering , Hagrid's hand still in his iron grip and when he was three feet off the ground he headbutted Hagrid with such strength that it sent Hagrid tumbling down a dozen feet.

With relief, Minerva noticed that he was still conscious, but obviously in a world of pain, if his groans and his bleeding face was anything to go by.

The wizard still hovering, made way towards the goblet of fire, his intent clear even though his face was concealed completely. Minerva wanted to scream at him, to beg him, but she was under a powerful silencing charm.

The wizard reached the goblet and took out his wand and without wasting anytime,

"Fiend-"

That was all he was able to say when he was engulfed by hot flaming light that swirled around him like a tornado, and when it cleared . the seemingly invincible wizard was on his knees, bound in chains from neck to toe , like a cocoon, chains that glowed ethereal silver. And in front of him stood the towering form of Albus Dumbledore .

"You made a grave mistake attacking my school "

* * *

**I am sure you guys have know who this wizard is , how will he fare against Dumbledore now ? **


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